Replacing about a teaspoon of butter or dairy fat with olive oil every day lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease, a US study shows.

Higher olive oil consumption was linked with better heart health in a large cohort of US health professionals.

Those who consumed more than half a tablespoon a day of olive oil had a 14% lower risk of CVD and an 18% lower risk of CHD compared with those who had olive oil less than once per month.

And replacing 5g — or a teaspoon — of margarine, butter, mayonnaise or dairy fat with the same amount of olive oil, was linked with 5-7% lower risk of total CVD and CHD.